Review and Competition: Cheekyshoes

22/05/2013

I find it notoriously difficult to find shoes that fit me and feel comfortable. So difficult that I hate shoe shopping and tend to spend most of my life in trainers or flip flops as a result. so when I first heard about Cheekyshoes I just assumed that I would have the same problems as I do with most other shoes – how wrong I was! I didn’t think it possible to buy a pair of shoes online and then be able to walk in them for a mile as soon as they arrived without any problems or discomfort, but that’s exactly what I did.

It is almost as if Cheekyshoes were made for me as the two guys who set up the company did so because they wanted to provide women with funky looking shoes that they could buy online, without having to worry about the fitting. Perfect.

The buying process starts with deciding what size shoes you need and to do that there’s a handy printout that you can stand on to see what size you need. It’s as simple as that. But, as the shoes are made of a mix of lycra and neoprene you don’t have to worry if you have feet like mine with strange sticky out bits – they just expand to fit your foot shape. OK, you need to get roughly the right size so the sole is right, but the process is so much less stressful than ordering other clothing and footwear online.

When the shoes come in the post they pack so flat that the postman (or woman!) can just pop them through the letterbox if you’re out. Very convenient and, when you pick them up off the door mat, it also makes you realise just how easy it would be to pack them in your suitcase when you go on holiday, or pop them in your handbag if you were out one evening and wanted something more comfortable to travel home in.

I chose Tomtastic Red from their selection and I have to say that my only disappointment with the shoes was that the red colour wasn’t quite as red as I was expecting. There was a slightly orange edge to it instead. Not a problem, but I have a scarlet red floral skirt that I don’t think I’d be able to wear them with due to the slightly orangy-ness.

As soon as I tried the shoes on I fell in love with just how comfortable they are. They fit like a glove and I hardly felt like they were on. Within half an hour I was doing the mile round-trip to Little Miss C’s nursery and had no problems at all doing so in them.

They are perfect shoes for the summer and the bright colours and affordable price tag (only £19.99 a pair) make them great for having several pairs so that you can wear them with different things. As I’ve already said, they don’t take up much space in your luggage so also a really good choice for going on holiday.

Another thing that I really liked about Cheekyshoes is the people behind the shoes and the choices that they’re making about production in particular. At the moment Cheekyshoes are made in China, but they are bringing production back to the UK very soon. Now there’s the obviously fantastic thing of a company supporting British industry, which is always worth celebrating, but moving production actually brings about so many other benefits, in particular through reducing the carbon footprint of the shoes and reducing waste during manufacturing.

China is mainly knows as a place where you can produce things cheaply, but if you ask a few questions you find that it isn’t all that straightforward. The reason why China can produce things cheaply is because they do it in bulk. Think about mass produced consumer electronics for instance. Sometimes what happens is that a company will produce something in bulk to get production costs down, but in doing so some of what they produce may be sold on at a massive discount or even thrown away! Shockingly this is cheaper than producing less in the first place. It’s criminal when you think about all that waste being produced just to keep costs down, and then think about all the extra energy used to produce things which are thrown away and it makes your blood boil even more.

Manufacturers in the UK are not so worried about minimum order sizes, so producing shoes here will help to reduce waste and the carbon footprint even before you’ve considered not having to fly the shoes half way around the world. Cheekyshoes are also planning to bring out new styles and materials later this year, something that is only possible through bringing production closer to home. I’ve had a sneaky look at some of these new designs and they look great. I’m already looking forward to when they’re out so I can buy a few more pairs (just don’t tell Mr C!)

Before trying Cheekyshoes I have to admit that I wouldn’t have thought it possible to buy a pair of shoes online and to be so pleased with them straight away, but that’s exactly what happened here. They are so comfortable and just perfect for the summer. If, like me, you struggle to find shoes that fit and please give these guys a try.

Win one of three pairs of Cheekyshoes

The people behind Cheekyshoes are so nice that they’ve also agreed to give away a pair of Cheekyshoes to each of three lucky Being Mrs C readers. To be in with a chance of winning a pair you need to subscribe to the Cheekyshoes email mailing list by filling in the form here and complete the competition entry widget below.

This competition ends at midnight on Wednesday 29 May 2013. For full T&Cs please click the link in the Rafflecopter widget below.